Alumina plants begin reopening

Two of Jamaica's largest alumina producers are preparing to reopen their plants after Hurricane Ivan moved away from the island. Alcoa's Jamaican refinery Jamalco began reopening its plant on Tuesday after it announced that it had not suffered any serious damage from the hurricane. However, the port from which Jamalco ships alumina did suffer damage during the hurricane. As a result, the company is studying alternative ways of exporting its product. The company also intends to declare force majeure in light of the temporary shutdown of the facility and the damage to the port. Meanwhile, Norsk Hydro said it could take a week to restart production at its Alpart alumina refinery, which it owns jointly with Swiss-based commodities trader Glencore AG, Reuters reported. The company said that damage had been caused to a waste deposit area, which it said would prevent circulation of liquid during the refining process. Damage was also caused to the company's harbor. On Friday, the company estimated the shutdown would cost US$3.5mn dollars in lost production and extra energy costs, but no new estimates are available for the cost of infrastructure damages incurred by the hurricane.